The Supreme Court of Pakistan has suspended Lahore High Court (LHC)’s decision to declare Ravi Riverfront Urban Development project illegal and unconstitutional, directing the government to continue working on the project.
Led by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, the three-member bench granted permission for the government of Punjab to resume the project’s construction and continue development on land whose owners had already been squarely paid. The court called on the respondents to submit additional documents in response to the government’s appeal. The court will also determine whether the case would remain at the apex court, or be sent back to the LHC.
Last Tuesday, the LHC effectively halted the projected when it ordered the government to return loan money it ruled had been acquired illegally. Furthermore, the LHC said that the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) had acted in violation of land acquisition laws.
Following the order, Prime Minister Imran Khan had continued to defend the project, stating that the government would take the case’ before the Supreme Court.
Critics of the project said that it had been initiated without an environmental impact assessment, and would unfairly deprive farmers with live-sustaining agricultural land. Some alleged the project was a giant land-grabbing endeavor.
The RUDP was conceived as a $7-billion riverfront urban development project which aimed to transform almost 50 kilometers along the banks of the Ravi River into a ‘high-quality urban development.’
More to follow.
